The present invention relates to a device and a method for identifying a person by utilizing a vein pattern obtained by imaging light transmitted through his or her finger.
Personal identification techniques include methods based on fingerprints, irises, voice, veins on the back of a hand and so forth. A number of companies are already manufacturing and marketing fingerprint-based personal identification devices. These products identify a person by reading his or her fingerprint by having the fingerprint come into contact with a fingerprint sensor, recognizing end points and branching points of the fingerprint, and collating them with characteristic points of registered fingerprints.
JP-A-295674/1998 discloses a personal identification device based on veins on the back of a hand. According to this, the back of a hand is faced toward an image pick-up camera, and the reflection of the light emitted from the camera is used to pick up a blood vessel pattern to identify the person on that basis. The device is designed to prevent the location of the hand to be imaged from fluctuating from one round of identification to another by having the hand grasp a fixed rod-shaped guide.
JP-A-21373/1995 discloses a personal identification device based on finger veins, which, particularly to reduce the loss of luminous energy at the time of image picking up, keeps an optical fiber in close contact with the finger and picks up a finger image.